Proverbs 23:12, “Apply thine heart unto instruction, and thine ears to the words of knowledge.”
The word ‘apply’ is an action word. God is telling us here that we are to actively pursue instruction and knowledge. It’s not to be a casual, hit or miss happening in our lives, but a solid determination on our part to know God better and to seek His direction.
How can we do this? I’m going to share how God has taught me over the last several years to grow closer to Him and increase in the knowledge of His Word. This truly has changed my life. I have shared this in more detail in my book, “I Want to Be a Better Me for God,” but, here I will only give an abbreviated version.
To start with – you need to read the Bible every day. DUH – Tell me something I don’t already know. Okay – since you asked. It is not just reading , it is thinking about and meditating on, what you read. This is how I do it. In my book I have a list of verses that go along with the theme of the chapter, but you can pick out any subject that you would like to study- such as trust, love, forgiveness, etc. Look up a verse and write it out in its entirety along with the reference. I suggest you get a notebook to use for this purpose.
After you write out the verse, you read it again, and again, and maybe again – asking God to reveal to you the truths in the verse. You may want to look up certain words in the dictionary. Write out on paper what you are learning. This is an important part of the assignment. You must write it out, not just think about it. This translates into true mediation! It is amazing how God’s Word will open up for you as it never has before.
The second part of the assignment is to pick out a book of the Bible (any book, you choose) and read at least one chapter a day until you have finished the entire book. I also have a notebook I use just for chapter reading. Write a quick synopsis of the chapter or pick out one verse that really speaks to you and write it out. When you have finished a book, move on to another one.
Learn, learn, learn – never stop learning because when you stop learning you stop growing. Not only do you stop growing, but you start sliding backwards. Seek and embrace God truths because this is how He wants you to live! I can honestly say that the best part of every day is when I am doing my Bible reading. I hope that is true for you also. I challenge you to try this method of Bible study for a month and see if it helps you as much as it helped me!
Don’t forget to ask God to help you in this endeavor.
No Comments